annoying water retention - how to get rid of it when you have a stubborn body
TamLam99
Posts: 247 Member
It seems like the water weight comes on fast but takes so long to come off. When I'm up 2-3 pounds overnight after a week of meticulous counting and tracking I know it's from excess sodium or hormones (over 40 hormonal hot mess) so I try not to panic. The problem is that my body does not want to let it go easily and it sometimes takes me a week or more to recover from this. I bump up the water intake and eat less sodium the next few days but it doesn't seem to be enough. Are there any other tips or tricks you might have ? Dandelion tea ?
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It seems like the water weight comes on fast but takes so long to come off. When I'm up 2-3 pounds overnight after a week of meticulous counting and tracking I know it's from excess sodium or hormones (over 40 hormonal hot mess) so I try not to panic. The problem is that my body does not want to let it go easily and it sometimes takes me a week or more to recover from this. I bump up the water intake and eat less sodium the next few days but it doesn't seem to be enough. Are there any other tips or tricks you might have ? Dandelion tea ?
I was with you until dandelion tea. Skip that. Weight loss isn't linear and its normal to see fluctuations over the course of a week, or weeks. You're really talking about a short amount of time! It can be frustrating so if it's getting you down Id recommend considering weighing weekly rather than daily.0 -
If you know it's water and the weight eventually comes off, what's the issue? Does 2-3 pounds make a big difference in how your clothes fit?0
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It seems like the water weight comes on fast but takes so long to come off. When I'm up 2-3 pounds overnight after a week of meticulous counting and tracking I know it's from excess sodium or hormones (over 40 hormonal hot mess) so I try not to panic. The problem is that my body does not want to let it go easily and it sometimes takes me a week or more to recover from this. I bump up the water intake and eat less sodium the next few days but it doesn't seem to be enough. Are there any other tips or tricks you might have ? Dandelion tea ?
I was with you until dandelion tea. Skip that. Weight loss isn't linear and its normal to see fluctuations over the course of a week, or weeks. You're really talking about a short amount of time! It can be frustrating so if it's getting you down Id recommend considering weighing weekly rather than daily.
It's so frustrating. I do weigh daily but only log it weekly, of course this happened the day I usually log the weight.
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DeguelloTex wrote: »If you know it's water and the weight eventually comes off, what's the issue? Does 2-3 pounds make a big difference in how your clothes fit?
It does bother me. When I struggle to drop 1 pound a week, seeing the numbers shoot up like that is very frustrating even though I know it's water. The real issue is that it takes me up to 2 weeks just to get back down to where I was. It makes me cranky - LOL.
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There's really not much that can be done about it if you're drinking enough water. Maybe cut down on carbs. Or just accept that that's the way the human body works and that it doesn't really care about your feelings.0
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it might sound weird but drinking more water everyday will shed pounds in water retension. Your brain will tell your body not to store as much water if you drink plenty of it. A few extra trips to the toilet a day is all it will cost ya
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How much are you drinking a day? Cause everyone says a gallon is good but my water retention is lowest when I'm hitting around 2 this is including all drinks not just water.0
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I get a bit of water retention after a weekend of exercise.
I leave it be for Monday.
Then on Tuesday I drink an extra glass of water and extra cup of tea.
And on Wednesday I return to my normal quantity of drinking, and I start to lose it.
Interestingly, I was passing a kidney stone a couple months ago, and so I was drinking a lot more than normal ... maybe 2 or 3 extra glasses of water a day and a couple extra cups of tea. At first, I continued to lose weight as usual, and then all of a sudden the weight loss stopped for about a week or 10 days. When the stone passed, I resumed drinking as normal, and all of a sudden I lost weight.
So I'm guessing that while drinking some extra water helps ... you might need to reduce the drinking back to normal after a couple days.0 -
I feel your pain! What worked for me when that happened (usually after a meal out) was to drink lots of water, watch sodium and keep my carb intake around 100 g for a couple of days.0
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Lower your sodium. Your body takes the water on to fight the excess sodium. When the sodium goes down, the water does, too. 0
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Patience.
I get water gain like that as well - gain a couple pounds and it takes 10-14 days to lose it even with drinking plenty of water, a deficit, and moderate sodium intake.0 -
The general consensus seems to be PATIENCE and more water. Thanks for the tips. I think I'm just overly crabby today and seeing the scale jump over 2 pounds did not help.0
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Also, how many carbs do you eat? The more carbs you eat, the more water you will retain, up to a point though because your muscles can only hold so much water. If you carbs are very high, you may want to reduce them, ensure your protein is at the right level and increase in fat to compensate for any leftover carb calories.
Usually i have no problem in losing extra fluid after a salty meal, so i'm wondering what else is it about your diet, becuase i am not aware whether some people have difficulties shedding fluid or if it really is explained by your diet.0 -
Patttience wrote: »Also, how many carbs do you eat? The more carbs you eat, the more water you will retain, up to a point though because your muscles can only hold so much water. If you carbs are very high, you may want to reduce them, ensure your protein is at the right level and increase in fat to compensate for any leftover carb calories.
Usually i have no problem in losing extra fluid after a salty meal, so i'm wondering what else is it about your diet, becuase i am not aware whether some people have difficulties shedding fluid or if it really is explained by your diet.
I didn't know that, guess I can try to reduce the carbs too. I know I don't eat enough fat, I'm consistently low on that.0 -
My weight fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day, but I'm 6'4" and 223 lbs. I drink ~120 oz of water a day depending on activity.
Are you tracking how much you drink?0 -
My weight fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day, but I'm 6'4" and 223 lbs. I drink ~120 oz of water a day depending on activity.
Are you tracking how much you drink?
Yes, on a normal day I drink 90-100 ounces a day of water and that does not include the 2+ cups of coffee I usually have.0 -
It seems like the water weight comes on fast but takes so long to come off. When I'm up 2-3 pounds overnight after a week of meticulous counting and tracking I know it's from excess sodium or hormones (over 40 hormonal hot mess) so I try not to panic. The problem is that my body does not want to let it go easily and it sometimes takes me a week or more to recover from this. I bump up the water intake and eat less sodium the next few days but it doesn't seem to be enough. Are there any other tips or tricks you might have ? Dandelion tea ?
Drink water and accept that water weight happens. Don't get hung up on the number on the scale.0 -
My weight fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day, but I'm 6'4" and 223 lbs. I drink ~120 oz of water a day depending on activity.
Are you tracking how much you drink?
Yes, on a normal day I drink 90-100 ounces a day of water and that does not include the 2+ cups of coffee I usually have.
Excellent! Unfortunately your body will "hold" onto that extra water for ~5-7 days. Hormones play a huge factor and cause (we still don't know why) increased cellular uptake in many people. As you lose weight it will be easier for your body to regulate hormones, so don't get discouraged and focus on your other positive gains.0 -
It seems like the water weight comes on fast but takes so long to come off. When I'm up 2-3 pounds overnight after a week of meticulous counting and tracking I know it's from excess sodium or hormones (over 40 hormonal hot mess) so I try not to panic. The problem is that my body does not want to let it go easily and it sometimes takes me a week or more to recover from this. I bump up the water intake and eat less sodium the next few days but it doesn't seem to be enough. Are there any other tips or tricks you might have ? Dandelion tea ?
Drink water and accept that water weight happens. Don't get hung up on the number on the scale.
I wish I didn't care about the number on the scale but I admit it does impact me more than I should let it. One of the many things I'm working on.
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My weight fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day, but I'm 6'4" and 223 lbs. I drink ~120 oz of water a day depending on activity.
Are you tracking how much you drink?
Yes, on a normal day I drink 90-100 ounces a day of water and that does not include the 2+ cups of coffee I usually have.
Excellent! Unfortunately your body will "hold" onto that extra water for ~5-7 days. Hormones play a huge factor and cause (we still don't know why) increased cellular uptake in many people. As you lose weight it will be easier for your body to regulate hormones, so don't get discouraged and focus on your other positive gains.
Great advice and thanks for the positive vibes 0 -
HAHAHA - always feels better when you can blame someone
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It seems like the water weight comes on fast but takes so long to come off. When I'm up 2-3 pounds overnight after a week of meticulous counting and tracking I know it's from excess sodium or hormones (over 40 hormonal hot mess) so I try not to panic. The problem is that my body does not want to let it go easily and it sometimes takes me a week or more to recover from this. I bump up the water intake and eat less sodium the next few days but it doesn't seem to be enough. Are there any other tips or tricks you might have ? Dandelion tea ?
I COMPLETELY understand your pain! I only weigh myself on Saturdays, and like clockwork I've been losing .5 lb every week for months...EXCEPT for the rare instance when I overdo it with sodium on a Friday. Last Friday I had more sodium than usual, so the scale showed a 1 lb gain instead of a .5 lb loss. I totally understand and accept that it's water weight. But I've been antsy all week to check my weight again this Saturday to confirm that I'm still downward trending. The wait is hard! On top of that, I've had a little bloating minor stomach irritation this week so I won't be surprised if I'm still retaining more water although I drink tons of water. Oh well. I tried on smaller pants this morning and they fit, so something must be right 0 -
It seems like the water weight comes on fast but takes so long to come off. When I'm up 2-3 pounds overnight after a week of meticulous counting and tracking I know it's from excess sodium or hormones (over 40 hormonal hot mess) so I try not to panic. The problem is that my body does not want to let it go easily and it sometimes takes me a week or more to recover from this. I bump up the water intake and eat less sodium the next few days but it doesn't seem to be enough. Are there any other tips or tricks you might have ? Dandelion tea ?
I COMPLETELY understand your pain! I only weigh myself on Saturdays, and like clockwork I've been losing .5 lb every week for months...EXCEPT for the rare instance when I overdo it with sodium on a Friday. Last Friday I had more sodium than usual, so the scale showed a 1 lb gain instead of a .5 lb loss. I totally understand and accept that it's water weight. But I've been antsy all week to check my weight again this Saturday to confirm that I'm still downward trending. The wait is hard! On top of that, I've had a little bloating minor stomach irritation this week so I won't be surprised if I'm still retaining more water although I drink tons of water. Oh well. I tried on smaller pants this morning and they fit, so something must be right
Good job on the smaller pants. Perfect example of how that downward trend does make a difference.0
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